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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · tear · dip · fork · net · prune · snap · drill

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. drill — the tool
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — army training
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. net — after costs
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. net — for catching
  20. tear — from crying
  21. net — in sport
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com